Work holders for fastening-inserting machines



May 3, 1960 c. M. BAGSHAW mp 2,934,772

y WORK HOLDERS FOR FASTENING-INSERTING MACHINES Filed Dec. l, 1958 -4 @35Min,

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Y J4 A 50 /l Il j J6 a j 6'@ 55 y I fig Z H-Lv 34 Inventors Charles M Bagshau/ William H Jim ttZeu/aaa By .u

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WORK HOLDERS FOR FASTENlNG-INSERTING MACHINES Charles M. Bagshaw and William H. Shuttlewood, Leicester, England, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 1, 1958, Serial No. 777,493

Claims priority, application Great Britain February 27, 1958 6 Claims. (Cl. 12-50) This invention relates to fastening-inserting machines and, more particularly, is concerned with the holding and positioning, in such a machine, of a heel and a top lift Which is to be attached to the heel by a number of slugs.

In thus fastening a top lift to a small or slender heel, such as is found on a high heeled woman's shoe, close attention is given to the position and arrangement of the slugs with respect to both the top lift and heel, for any material misplacement of the slugs is conspicuous and may impair their holding power.

.In View of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide for the certain positioning and holding of a top lift and a heel in the proper relation with respect to each other and to the driving mechanism of a fastening-inserting machine.

Pursuant to a further object of the invention, provision is to be made for holding the top lift in the desired position to free the operators hands for use in loading and unloading the machine as well as for bringing the heel into the desired position to receive the top lift.

In view of the foregoing, invention is to be recognized in an improved top lift and heel supporting and registeri tion to the holder, as well as the stability of the heel dur-` ing the attachment of the lift thereto, the invention also contemplates the cooperation of the above-mentioned holder, which is engaged by the breast and sides of the heel, with a support for the heel, engaged by the heel seat and rear surfaces thereof, the support being movable from a loading position into an operative position with a movement which is positively limited upon the engagement of the heel breast with the holder.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will next be described with reference to an illustrative embodirnentof the invention, shown in the drawings, and

i will be set forth in the appended claims.

`Fig. is a sectional View, the section being indicated l by the line V-V of Fig. l.

In the illustrated machine there is fastening-inserting mechanism comprising a rotary slug shearing and transferring device 10 (corresponding to a similar device 12 in United States Letters Patent No. 2,052,659 granted on September 1, 1936 upon an applicationof F. Ricks et al.) this device having three throats 12 for receiving wires from which slugs are formed and out of which drivers 14 later drive the slugs into the work. A top.lift L, and a heel H to which the lift is to be attached, are held in register with each other and are positioned with respect to the fastening-inserting mechanism with the top lift abutting a pressure plate 16 (Fig. l) which is fixed to the operating head of the machine. The heel is supported against the thrust of the drivers upon a support 18 which is associated with a post 20 of a treadle operated jack mechanism of a type commonly employed in machines of this sort. The post is locked against downward movement when the slugs are driven and is capable of being lowered by a treadle to facilitate the presentation of the work to the machine, as well as its removal therefrom. No details of the jack post and operating mechanism therefor are disclosed herein as they form no part of the present invention.

The tread end of the heel H and the top lift L are held in register with each other and are positioned with respect to the fastening-inserting mechanism by a work registering device comprising a retainer 22 for the top lift and a holder 24 for the heel, the holder and retainer being adiustably fixed upon the plate 16. The retainer comprises a pair of arms 26 (Figs, 2 and 3) the adjacent sides of which are recessed to receive the top lift, to provide shoulders 28 adapted to be engaged by the breast surface of the lift, and to form lips 30 arranged to overlap the lateral, lower margins of the lift by an amount no more than the usual trimming allowance, whereby the lift is fully supported and positioned independently of and without interference with the heel H. The arms 26 are fixed upon the plate 16 by screws 32 about which the arms may be swung, when the screws are slacked off, to accommodate Various widths of top lifts. By this arrangement, the top lift is fully supported by the retainer 22, leaving both hands of the operator free to load the heel upon the support 18 and to present the heel to the heel holder 24.

The heel holder comprises an abutment 34 (Figs. l, 2 and 4) which is fixed upon a bracket 36, the latter being slotted to receive a screw 38 which is threaded into the plate 16 whereby the abutment may be positioned, as desired, forwardly and rearwardly of the retainer 22. The abutment is normally adjusted so that the breast of a heel engaging the forward face of the abutment is overlapped by the breast of the top lift enough to ,provide the usual trimming allowance on the top lift. The he'el H is centered laterally with respect to the lift L between a pair of fingers 40 which are mounted to swing toward and away fromV each other on studs 42 fixed in the abutment 34. 'Ihe fingers are biased toward each other by springs 44 which are fixed upon the abutment 34, the fingers hav-v ing equal and opposite movement because of the provision of a projection 46 on one of them which is received in a complemental recess 48 in the other. Thus, when the heel H is inserted between the fingers 40 with its breast seated against the abutment 34, the heel and the top lift are located in register with each other and properly positioned with respect to the fastening-inserting mechanism.

The heel seat engaging surface of the support 18 is formed with a convex crown 50 shaped generally to t the concave heel seat portion of the heel; and a stop 52, fixed upon the forward end of the support 18, has a hard felt or rubber cushion 54 adapted to be engaged by the rearward surface of the heel H.

The support 18 is mounted to tilt forwardly and rearwardly upon a screw 56 which passes through the bottom of the support and a pair of ears on a carriage 58, the support being clamped between the ears, in any desired ment 34,.

asserts y angular position upon the carriage, by a handle 60 which is threaded upon the screw 56. The carriage is grooved to receive a slide 62 upon which the carriage is movable forwardly and rearwardly between a loading position and an operating position which it occupies when the heel is brought into operative relation to the heel holder 24, as described above. When the heel is in this position, rearward movement of the carriage S is prevented by a stop screw 64 which is threaded into an arm 66 on the carriage, and is adapted to abut the forward end of the slide 67.. Forward movement of the carriage 58 is limited by the engagement of a bracket 68, xed upon the carriage, with the rear end of the slide 62, the holder 18 at this time being far enough from the fastening-inserting mechanism to facilitate loading and unloading of the support.

The adjustment and use of the illustrated apparatus will now be briefly summarized. The arms 26 are adjusted to receive a top lift closely therebetween and so that the top lift is centered laterally with respect to the fasteninginserting mechanism. Because of the lips 30 on the arms, the top lift is supported without the assistance of the operator and, when the breast of the lift is seated upon the shoulders 28, the lift is properly oriented and positioned in register with the fastening-inserting mechanism.

The heel holder 24 is next adjusted to cause the work engaging surface of the abutment 34 to be overlapped by the breast surface of the top lift by an amount equalto the desired trimming allowance on the top lift.

j With the support 18 drawn forwardly into its loading position, a heel is placed thereon with its heel seat on the p crown S0 and is slid forwardly into engagement with the cushion 54, causing the heel to be wedged upon the support. The support is next slid rearwardly on the slide 62 to bring the sides of the tread end of the heel between the fingers 40 and its breast into engagement with the abut- If the heel breast is not completely seated upon the abutment, the handle 60 is operated to free the support which is then swung on the screw 56 until the `heel breast is brought into complete contact with the abutment 34. After setting up the handle 6l), the screw 6 4 is adjusted into engagement with the forward end of the slide 62, so that rearward movement of the support beyond its operative position is positively prevented. Thus, once the above adjustments have been made and the support 1S with a heel thereon is moved into its operative position, as determined by the engagement of the screw 64 with the slide 62, the heel is supported against any lateral movement between the lingers 40 and against any fore and aft movement between the abutment 34 and the cushion 54.

The operating mechanism for the jack post causes the heel to be held against the top lift and the latter against the plate 16, the post also being locked when the drivers 14 are operated to insert the fastenings into the work. `To facilitate the removal of the work from the machine, the jack post is lowered to relieve the pressure between lthe top lift and the plate 16, and then the work support 1S is freely movable into the loading position.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. In amachine of the class described having fasteninginserting mechanism, a work registering device comprising a retainer for holding and positioning a lift with respect to said mechanism and a heel holder for positioning the j tread end of a heel in register with the lift, and a heel support having means for holding a heel in a predetermined position on said support by engagement with the heel seat and a rearward surface of the heel, -said support being mounted for movement from a loadingposition to present the heel in operative relation to said heel holder.

2. In a machine of the class described having fasteninginserting mechanism, a work registering device comprising a lift retainer and a heelholder, associated with said mechanism, said retainer being constructed and arranged to hold and position a lift over and in register with the tread end of a heel in said holder, and a heel support upon which rests the heel seat of a heel on said support, said support being mounted for movement from a loading position to bring the heel into operative relation to said heel holder below and in juxtaposition to the lift.

3. In a machine of the Yclass described having fasteninginserting mechanism, a work registering device for positioning a lift and a heel in register with each other and with respect to said mechanism, said device comprising a lift retainer adapted to support a lift therein by engagement with the margin of the attaching surface of the lift, said device also comprising below said retainer a heel holder having an abutment adapted to be engaged by the heel breast and means for centering the heel laterally thereof with respect to the lift, and a heel support comprising means for fixcdly positioning a heel upon said support in a predetermined relation thereto, said support being movable to carry the heel into engagement with said centering means with the heel breast in engagement y with said abutment.

, being movable in one direction toward said mechanism to press the heel against the lift, said support also being vmounted for limited movement transversely to said direction to carry the heel between said members and into engagement with said abutment.

5. In a machine of the class described having fastening-inserting mechanism, a lift retainer comprising a pair of arms each of which has shoulders arranged to receive a forward corner of a lift in the retainer, a heel holder having fingers yieldingly mounted thereon to center a heel in the holder laterally of the heel with respect to said mechanism, said holder having an abutment adapted to be engaged by the heel breast, a heel support mounted to lslide from a loading position to present a heel thereon to said heel holder, said support having a crown and stop for positioning a heel on the support by engagement with the heel seat and a rear portion of the heel respectively and stop means for limiting the movement of said support upon the engagement of the heel breast with said abutment.

6. In a machine of the class described having fastening-inserting mechanism, a lift retainer having lips for supporting a lift therein by engagement with the margin of its attaching surface, said retainer also have shoulders adapted to be engaged by the sides and the breast of the lift,fa heel holder disposed below said retainer and having lingers mounted for equal and opposite movement into yielding engagement with the sides of a heel presented therebetween, a heel support for presenting a heel thereon in operative relation to said heel holder, and means for holding the heel against movement forwardly and rearwardly thereof comprising an abutment on said holder adapted to be engaged by the heel breast and a stop on said support against which the rear portion of the D heel is seated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,148,269 Witham July 27, 1915 1,285,785 Negus Nov. 26, 1918 1,653,640 Mackenzie Dec. 27, 1927 1,703,929 Goddu Mar. 5, 1929 1,716,591 Mackenzie .lune 1l, 1929 2,210,053 'Young' Aug. 6, 194() l i l l 1 

